Rees returns as Blues face Connacht

Related Articles

Welsh international Rees is recalled in the front row and is one of eight changes made by Director of Rugby Mark Hammett to the side that narrowly lost out to champions Leinster last week.

Tight-head prop Taufa’ao Filise makes his first start of the campaign, with Adam Jones rested, while Gethin Jenkins packs down at loosehead.

Samoa international Filo Paulo returns to partner All Blacks ace Jarrad Hoeata in the second row while the back row sees Macauley Cook and Manoa Vosawai called in to play alongside Sam Warburton. Josh Turnbull moves to the replacements bench.

Three changes in the backs include Adam Thomas being named at full back, with the league’s current highest scorer Rhys Patchell moving to fly half.

“We know Connacht is a tough place to go and play,” said Hammer. “It’s a hard assignment out in Galway, with the travel and potential weather conditions. But both teams are playing in it and we have got to deal with it.

“We have made improvements to our game every week this season and this is another fixture when we try and build on that.

“We were disappointed last weekend as we should have definitely taken a bonus point against Leinster,” he added. “We had a situation where we had revived ourselves, were four points down and had momentum going our way. It was disappointing not to get a point or even a win.

“Now we need to continue to improve all aspects of our game. At the moment we are a team that has gone well in certain areas but haven’t put it together over 80 minutes. That needs to change.

“A win would certainly build confidence, there is no doubt about that, but we are looking at the big picture here and taking another step forward as a team at Connacht.”

News on this Day

Lost Cats – Lost and found in S Wales

If your cat is missing check our LOST CATS page
This area draws the Facebook pages of lost Cats in Cardiff and S Wales together for easy viewing .
It also includes GOOD NEWS stories of found cats like Ollie below !